


Different Kind of Danger

by JazzRaft



Series: Festive Food Fluffs [18]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 05:43:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20204674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazzRaft/pseuds/JazzRaft
Summary: Summers call for campfires, and there's no better place Noct would rather have one than with Nyx, in the woods, despite how much Cor tells him that it's dangerous.





	Different Kind of Danger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aithilin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/gifts).

“You brought bug spray, right?”

“Yes.”

“And your phone’s charged?”

“_Yes._”

“Potions? Smelling salts? Water?”

“Six, _yes_! _Cor._ I’ll be fine. It’s Nyx.”

“Exactly. It’s _Nyx_.”

Noctis snorted, trying not to smile at his boyfriend’s expense when he wasn’t in the car to defend himself. Instead, he waved out the passenger side window as Cor crawled them into the shady lot where the notorious knight himself awaited to receive his prince, golden steeds and all.

The Malmalam Thicket was just beginning its renaissance in advertising for outdoorsmen to return and enjoy the dark woods. Camping, fishing, and – their most marketable activity – chocobo riding, were all being encouraged to coax nature enthusiasts back into the park. Noctis had been itching to check it out over the summer once he caught a glimpse of the new advert in the newspaper, glancing over his father’s shoulder at breakfast.

It almost _took_ all summer to sign off on the approvals for permitting the prized Prince of Lucis to wander the kingdom on his own. It was the promise of going with a Kingsglaive “escort” that ultimately sealed the deal. Nyx had been ready and willing with convenient vacation time to be said escort – and it brought Noctis no small amount of amusement that the Council had no idea just how appropriate (or rather inappropriate, in this case) for said role he was.

Nyx waved to them as they pulled in, soothing the pair of chocobos he’d rented as they peered at the strange steel mount purring to a stop. Noctis hoisted his pack from the backseat and put his hand on the door, rushing through his goodbyes before Cor stopped him with a firm, “Noct.” Noctis sighed and turned back to him, meeting the steely blue shield of his eyes.

“Do be careful,” Cor said. “The Empire may have left, but there’s still plenty of danger left in the wild.”

“I know,” Noctis said. “I’m ready for it.”

He climbed out of the car to better illustrate his point. Once he had space, he called his favorite sword to his hand, shimmering out from the armiger in a quick glint of blue. Cor raked his gaze, skeptically, over the Engine Blade. Noctis rolled his eyes and let it dissemble into crystal dust, then called his Javelin to his hand. Then his greatsword. Then the shield that Clarus had all but forced him to take from the Amicitia armory before he left for his trip. Finally, Cor seemed satisfied enough in Noct’s safety to release him to Nyx’s care, tilting his chin towards the glaive in a nod of dismissal.

“You keep him safe, Ulric,” he called out from the car.

“Always, sir.”

Nyx smiled and saluted with a lazy sweep of his arm, quirking two fingers off his temple. Cor idled for a moment longer, until Noctis had safely crossed the ten, treacherous feet of parking space between the car and Nyx. He turned and waved to Cor once he reached him, as much of a signal that the Marshal could leave as it was a promise that he would be careful while out camping. It was only when the taillights vanished back up the road that Noctis finally greeted Nyx.

“Hi,” he said, and kissed him.

“Hi,” Nyx said, and kissed him back. “Got everything you need?”

“Mmhm, right here,” Noctis said, looping his arms around Nyx’s waist and hugging him close.

Nyx dipped his head down and Noctis leaned up on his toes, instinctively responding for what he thought was another kiss. But Nyx ducked his lips along the shell of Noct’s ear instead, and whispered, “Not in front of the chocobos.” Noctis pouted as Nyx turned to the birds, clinging to his waist as he moved. “Thought we could have a bite to eat up at that haven. Then we could go for a ride.”

“Sounds good,” Noctis agreed, glancing up at the rise of stone next to the parking lot. “What great Galahdian home-cooking do I have to look forward to?”

Nyx’s smile was sheepish, like he didn’t expect Noctis would be all that impressed with whatever he’d prepared. Noctis was eager to prove him wrong. The only thing he wasn’t impressed with was just how long it took Nyx to set up a campfire.

“You know by the time you’re done, it’ll be nightfall,” Noctis teased, after about an hour of circling the haven, setting up chairs, and pretending to busy himself with grooming the spotless chocobos while Nyx handled the food.

“It takes time,” Nyx squawked. “I’m working in limited conditions here.”

Those conditions consisted of a tiny, portable grill set over a small fire, with two tin foil packets full of something that Noctis could just start to smell was delicious roasting over the flames. He didn’t mind waiting, truth be told. Nyx had always been worth it. And the succulent smoked sausages over a bed of tender, herb encrusted potatoes was worth the wait, too.

“Who taught you this trick?”

Noctis carefully folded the little packet open, steam blasting from beneath the foil as he exposed the fragrant, sizzling food to the summer afternoon. It had taken longer than it would have in a standard oven or grill, but the effect remained the same. His plastic fork sunk into pillowy potato wedges soaked in garlic butter and rosemary and thyme, and flavored with the smoky drippings of the sausage. The meat was spicy, a standard of any Galahdian cuisine.

“Who said anyone taught me?” Nyx asked, puffing up with pride in the fold-out chair next to Noct’s. Noctis skewered him with a skeptical look, chewing on a hot potato until Nyx confessed that, “Libs showed me. When everyone was sick of canned beans and rations on the frontlines, he’d whip up something like this.”

“Guess all of that fighting wasn’t a total waste, then,” Noctis teased, softly, nudging Nyx’s shoulder between their chairs.

“No, definitely not.”

Nyx smiled at him, prodding his nose against Noct’s hair to nuzzle. The chocobos grazed along the edges of the haven while they ate and watched the fire, the sun slowly beginning to crawl westward the longer they bided their time. Cor – and every brochure Noctis read – had advised them not to linger in the woods past nightfall. But neither of them had ever been very afraid of the dark.

“Ready to get lost in the woods with me?”

After they’d cleaned up their campsite, Nyx’s hands landed on Noct’s waist and lifted him off his feet to sit astride his chocobo. Noctis yelped in surprise and delight, clinging to the soft feathers as he righted himself.

“I thought we could go up and down the trail, then come back down here to stay the night,” Nyx said. “Can’t go into the thicket too far, or we’ll get in trouble.”

“Wasn’t that the whole point of getting away?” Noctis teased. “To get into trouble?”

“Not the kind of trouble you’re hoping for,” Nyx chuckled.

He swung a leg over his own steed and turned onto the path in one smooth movement. It was just nearing sunset, low orange beams of sunlight glowing across Nyx’s tanned face. Noctis followed that clever smile into the forest, throwing all of the cautions he’d just promised he’d take to the wind. Nyx’s smile had been his favorite danger for years now.

“Careful” was for closeted Citadel social politics. “Caution” was for hundred year old dictates about decorum and succession for the Crown. Well, he wasn’t in the Citadel anymore. He was in “dangerous territory.” And he was eager to race it head on.

They bounded into the night, into the woods, Noctis following Nyx’s smile like a guiding star, all caution be damned.


End file.
